Russia Hits Second Kyiv Bridge as Moscow Urges Diplomats to Leave
Pivnichnyi Bridge damaged; Russia warns foreigners; Zelenskyy cites ‘new doctrine’ on civilian sites
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File photo: Yevhen Paton Bridge over the Dnipro in Kyiv. Photo: Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A Russian strike hit Kyiv’s Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge on Saturday morning, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said, as Moscow urged foreign nationals including diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital, the BBC, Reuters and Al Jazeera reported.
Second major bridge damaged
Klitschko said two people were injured and the road surface and overhead trolleybus wires were damaged. Traffic from the left to the right bank was blocked, he wrote on Telegram, according to the BBC. The attack follows multiple Russian drone hits this week on the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge. Klitschko has warned that “the enemy is tearing Kyiv apart” and that the city faces a “very dramatic situation.
The bridges across the Dnipro River link the western and eastern parts of Kyiv, home to about three million residents. Strikes have disrupted road, rail and trolleybus links, causing traffic jams, while many residents rely on the metro. Russia said its drones hit bridges used to transfer Ukrainian troops and military cargo — a claim Kyiv disputes in framing the attacks as strikes on critical civilian infrastructu
Diplomats warned; Zelenskyy cites “new doctrine
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday it would continue “targeted” retaliatory strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities and again warned foreign nationals, including diplomatic staff, against staying in or travelling to Ukraine. “Responsibility for any adverse consequences lies entirely with those who ignore this warning,” the ministry said, according to Reuters. Both sides deny targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Reuters that new intelligence showed Russia’s “new doctrine” of striking roads, schools, hospitals and other sites to “pressure people to leave” cities. He said Ukraine would respond on energy targets but not indiscriminately on civilian objects, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.
Other Saturday developments
A Liberian-flagged ship in the Odesa region was hit; one sailor was killed and three injured, with 12 evacuated, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority said, according to the BBC and Al Jazeera. At least 12 people were injured in overnight Russian strikes on the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions, local officials said. Moldova summoned the Russian ambassador after saying five Russian drones and missiles crossed its border, the BBC reported. Russia-installed officials separately reported deaths from Ukrainian strikes in occupied areas.re.
